He is encouraged by the rate at which OMGI has attracted clients since recruiting Buxton, one of the UK’s best equity managers.

His arrival stimulated business across the group. In the third quarter to September, gross sales leapt 79% to £2 billion compared with the same period a year ago.

Ide, who joined OMGI in 2011, had learnt how star managers can bring in business during his time as an executive at the asset management arms of Merrill Lynch, ABN Amro and Credit Suisse.

He still winces at the memory of Raphael Kassin, emerging markets bond pioneer, quitting ABN Amro to join Credit Suisse in 2007. Ide said: “To keep managers, you need a culture which sets them free.”

Ide concedes, however, that he is not the only executive trying to hang on to high-calibre talent. “There’s no such thing as low-hanging fruit when you are pursuing stars,” he said.

To get, and keep, the right people, Ide is willing to pay teams of managers a share of the profits they generate. He pays for central services out of OMGI’s profit share: “We don’t try to allocate costs to managers. It only leads to a wrangle.”

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However, managers are expected to cover direct costs out of their profit share. Ide said: “I’ve noticed that our managers are incredibly careful with their expense claims compared to other places.”

OMGI increased its fee income by concentrating on selling funds through the wholesale market, where fees are higher than in the institutional market.

Ide seeks to avoid paying commissions to his sales team based on the size of business they bring in. “I want our people to sell products to suitable clients, and get assessed on that. Anyone can hit a target by selling the easy options,” he said.

Ide added that sales should be just one part of the client experience, along with marketing: “We want to achieve institutional levels of service.”

He also wants to make sure OMGI’s new generation of stars, such as global equity manager Ian Heslop, get their fair share of attention from his sales force.

--This article first appeared in the print edition of Financial News dated December 2, 2013